National Geographic

Armenia has learned the hard way what it means for a country to lose its forests--and the huge backbreaking effort required to replant them. But in its struggle and determination to restore its trees, Armenia is an inspiration for the rest of the planet.

Auroras spring to life, the Milky Way enters middle age, a Mars moon gets its close-up, and more in the week's best space pictures.

St. Patrick was born in Britain, stout may be good for your heart, and there's a shamrock shortage in 2010. Get more facts in our roundup of St. Patrick's Day trivia.

See photos and illustrations of the plants and animals of the Permian period from National Geographic.

Seven cat species all live in a single Indian rain forest, camera traps show—the world's highest known cat diversity.

See photos and get wallpaper of Ireland (including the Cliffs of Moher, Dublin, Irish castles, and more) in this travel photo gallery from National Geographic.

"Theories range from brain 'maintenance'--including memory consolidation and pruning--to reversing damage from oxidative stress suffered while awake, to promoting longevity," says a statement released this week by the University of California in Los Angeles. ...

We may finally have proof that general relativity applies to cosmic bodies great and small—and that dark matter and dark energy are real.

The ancient Nasca lines of Peru shed their secrets.

See pictures of different cloud types (cumulus, lenticular, and others) from National Geographic.

A strong earthquake rattled eastern Turkey Sunday, killing at least 51 and crumbling minarets, barns, and flimsily built mud-brick houses.

Severe droughts have drained a reservoir in Venezuela, exposing a church that's been "missing" since 1985.

When Andrew Evans sent us this photo of a rare melanistic penguin that he spotted during his travels, I became intrigued. So I decided to call up Dr. Allan Baker, an ornithologist and professor of Environmental ...